Life Beyond Hogwarts
by Spaced Out Space Cadet
Summary: *Completed!* Hermione and Draco fic, Hermione finds Draco after he has been missing for 4 years
1. The Mission

Life Beyond Hogwarts  
  
Disclaimer: I am sure as most people on here realise that I do not own Harry Potter or anything else associated with the books, as much as I'd like to it isn't going to happen! Anything you don't recognise from the books is mine and if it resembles anything someone else has written then I am sorry ;oD  
  
Summary: Hermione is now 22 years old and with the defeat of Voldermort at the hands of Harry the Wizarding world is living in relative peace. She is working for the Ministry of Magic as an unspeakable. She is on a mission to find Draco Malfoy who has been missing since the end of their 7th year at Hogwarts. There will be appearances from all the Hogwarts favorites! Please review, any review is welcome even if you don't like my story! ;oD  
  
Chapter 1: The Mission  
  
Hermione cracked her knuckles as she sat at her desk. She looked down at the stack of papers in front of her and rubbed her face, she had just been handed a file from the youngest Minister of Magic ever, Ron Weasley. Opening the file Hermione looked down at a photo of a face containing a familiar sneer and cold gray eyes. Draco Malfoy had been missing since the downfall of Voldermort, and flicking through the thin manila folder it dawned on me what I was supposed to be doing. As a special favour to Professor Dumbledore it was my job to track him down and bring him back to Hogwarts. Hermione banged her head down on the desk repeatedly until the head of Harry Potter popped up over the partition. "Hey what's the matter Mione?" He asked. "Um, nothing that I can talk to you about actually. I have a mission and let's just say I'm not to thrilled about it!" "That's too bad, I guess that means that we won't be seeing you around here for a little while?" "It looks that way. Hey what are you doing down here anyway you know your not allowed to be here! You Aurors are always breaking the rules! " Hermione looked at him not really surprised that Harry was once again breaking the rules. "I was just welcoming the newest unspeakable to the Ministry." The smile on Harry's face was wide, which could mean only one thing. Next to Harry popped up a flaming red head, "Hey Mione! I guess we will be working together!" The smile on Ginny's face was a wide one! Hermione got up and walked around the petition to give her good friend a big hug. "I can't believe that you didn't tell me! And I was just at yours and Harry's house last night for dinner! You Potters! Honestly!" However there was a smile on Hermione's face and neither Harry nor Ginny took her scolding to heart. "And Ron! I don't understand how he didn't tell me, he is supposed to be my best friend!" Hermione shook her head while still maintaining her smile. "This is going to be great working with you Mione, and we can go shopping in our lunch breaks!" "I think that the shopping is going to have to wait, I am going away for a little while. I have a mission and according to the file it's pretty urgent so I have to go pretty much straight away." "Well I guess that we will just have to catch up when you get back, do you know when you will be coming back?" Ginny asked. "I have no idea, it is going to take a bit of work so I could be gone anywhere from a week to a year!" Hermione said. "You can't tell me where you're going?" Harry asked. "Sorry Harry, you know that I can't tell you! You better get used to it as well because there are things that Ginny won't be allowed to tell you!" Hermione teased. "Well Ginny, I think it is fantastic that you are going to be working with me, and it is always a pleasure to see you Harry but I have to go. Say bye to Ron for me, oh and will you two pass on a message to him for me?" "Sure Mione, what do you want to tell him?" "Just tell him I said thanks, and that I'm not amused." Hermione reached over grabbed her cloak and Malfoy's file and with a wave disapparated.  
  
Back in her apartment Hermione sat on the overly large and comfortable sofa and opened up Malfoy's folder again. In it were the details of his home, the Malfoy Manor, the last place that Malfoy had been seen by a wizard. A list of friends, surprisingly or not surprisingly short and a list of houses owned by his parents. This didn't leave much to go on but Hermione had had less to go on before and she had always got her man! However a little help was always welcome, but Hermione never compromised a mission by giving away to many details, it was time to an old friend for help. 


	2. The Plan

Chapter 2: Plans  
  
Hermione apparated out the front of a large home, the front garden was bursting with flowers and plants that most ordinary people had not seen or in fact heard of. The house was at least four stories tall and each level was surrounded by a balcony that was filled with more plants. Hermione walked up the uneven path to the door; she raised her hand to knock but quickly jumped back as green sticky fluid was squirted at her from a plant that grew around the front door. Hermione was covered in the smelly green fluid and she shook her head. Only Neville Longbottom would have a plant that squirted its guests with vile fluid. She quickly muttered a spell and all of the fluid disappeared, and she magically rang a bell so that Neville would know that she was there.  
  
Footsteps were heard from inside the house and moments later, the door opened.  
  
"Hermione! How nice to see you!" Neville said. He had a warm smile on his face as he ushered her into his home.  
  
"How have you been Neville?" Hermione asked him.  
  
"I've been well. There is something that tells me that you have not just dropped in for a chat Hermione. Why don't I get some tea together while you sit down and tell me why you're here." He said all this with a smile to let Hermione that he was not offended.  
  
"Sorry Neville. I should really come to visit you just for a chat and a cup of tea, but I really do need your help with something, but the only trouble is that I can't actually tell you much about it. The only thing I can tell you is that I need help finding someone." Neville looked up from pouring the tea with a puzzled look on his face.  
  
"Ok, but how can I help you? If you can't tell me who it is then I can't tell you where to find them."  
  
"No Neville, I think that you misunderstood me. I need your help to brew a potion, with ingredients that I know only you have so that I am able to have a more specific avenue of searching for my missing person." At this Neville nodded and handed Hermione her tea. "Of course, if I have it then you are welcome to use it! As soon as we have finished with the tea, we can go to my laboratory and start to mix your potion." "Thanks Neville, I owe you one! Where is Luna by the way?" "Luna is great. Can you believe that we have been married for two years now? It's been fantastic!" The smile on Neville's face was wide and happiness rolled off him in waves. When they got married it was the most unlikely union, however they were making it work and Hermione could not be happier for the both of them.  
  
After they had finished their tea, Neville led Hermione down some stairs and into a dungeon like room.  
  
"Do you know even though I hated Potions when Luna and I were redecorating Gran's house and we put in my lab I couldn't have it anywhere other than in the 'dungeon,'" Neville laughed at himself and led Hermione towards the centre of the room where his main work bench was. "So what are we going to be making?" Neville asked.  
  
"Well I thought that we could make a tracking potion, you know the one that Professor Snape mentioned in our seventh year. If I take it while thinking of the person that I want to find then it will make me instinctively head towards that person. It has a lot to do with feelings I think."  
  
"Hermione, you're forgetting that I didn't take seventh year potions. But luckily I do know the potion that you are talking about. Let me just look it up in one of my books and I will tell you if I have everything and how long it will take to make."  
  
"Thank you so much Neville! I don't know how I can thank you!" Hermione smiled.  
  
After looking through one of his many books lining the walls of his Lab, Neville shook his head. "Hermione I think I have some bad news and some good news."  
  
"Well Nev, I guess you better start with the good news." Hermione said.  
  
"Well the good news is that I have everything that I need to make the potion for you, the bad news is that it is going to take two weeks to make. So how about you come over in a fortnight and have dinner with Luna and I and that way you can have your potion as well." Neville smiled at Hermione and even though she was disappointed she was glad that it wasn't going to take longer to make than two weeks.  
  
"Thank you so much Neville! You don't know how much I appreciate it. And the dinner invitation is very much welcomed." Hermione smiled at Neville. "I don't mean to be rude and leave just as you have agreed to help me but I really must be going, I need to do as much background on this case as it possible. Thank you again Nev."  
  
"It's not a problem Hermione. I look forward to seeing you again in two weeks, and if you have a friend that you would like to bring with you then do so."  
  
"Thank you for the offer Neville, but I think that I will come by myself."  
  
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After Hermione had left Neville's home she apparated back to her flat in London, she needed to collect some things and make a plan for the next two weeks. As she sat her cat Crookshanks came up and rubbed against her legs while purring loudly. "Hello Crooks!" Hermione smiled down at her pet and scratched his back before once again opening the Malfoy file and began to look through the contents incase she had missed a clue as to his whereabouts. The only thing that Hermione could see to do was to go to the Malfoy Manor and have a look around there. No one was living there now, not since Lucius had been captured and taken to Azkaban and Mafoy's mother had moved to France. Well if nothing turned up at the Manor then she would head to France to talk to his mother, because it made sense that he would keep in contact with his mother. 


	3. The Search Continues

Chapter 3: The Search Continues  
  
The Malfoy Manor was not what Hermione expected it to be. The manor had been unlived in for four years yet the house was immaculately kept. The grounds surrounding the actual house were large and well tendered well many bright and beautiful flowers, though some did look quite dangerous and Hermione reminded herself to be careful when she went to knock on the front door.  
  
Walking up the front path, she noticed that around the back of the manor there was a dark wood, much like the forbidden forest at Hogwarts. If no one answered the door of the manor then Hermione decided that she would go and search the wood, even though from the distance it looked cold, uninviting, and really quite frightening.  
  
When Hermione reached the front double doors of the manor, she was taken aback by the carvings in the wood. There was a large snake carved around the edge of both of the doors and it was moving continuously round and round. In the centre, there was a silver knocker that was also a snake only this time the snake was wrapped around a lion that was struggling and its jaws were moving up and down in an endless silent scream. Hermione was slightly fearful of using the knocker but calling on some of the famous Gryffindor braveness quickly reached out, gave it one loud knock, and took a quick step back from the door. Silence emitted from the house that almost belied the look of care that the house had.  
  
Hermione took a few more steps back form the house and looked up into the windows that were facing her. She thought that she saw movement behind one the curtains on the fifth floor so she marched back up the path and grasped the knocker and brought it down twice very hard. Inside the manor the echo of the knocks were heard and Hermione began to tap her foot in annoyance while waiting for someone to come and open up the door for her. It seemed to take an eternity before the large double doors began to creek open, Hermione looked straight ahead but couldn't see anyone and as she looked down she saw the most pitiful house elf, he had a pillow case wrapped around his middle that was black and burnt in spots, the body that protruded from above the pillow case was all bone and loose hanging green skin. Thoughts of S.P.E.W. instantly came to mind but that would have to wait.  
  
"Hello, I am looking for Draco Malfoy." Hermione said very clearly as she looked down at the unfortunate house elf.  
  
"You is looking for Master Draco?" Came back the squeaky reply, he peered at Hermione through squinted bulbous eyes.  
  
"Yes that's right, I was wondering if you could please let him know that I am here to see him." Hermione thought that the best way to get into the manor and to find Malfoy was to play dumb for once.  
  
"There is no Master Draco here, he is gone, gone, gone." He squeaked.  
  
"What do you mean gone? Does he no longer live here?" Hermione began to panic, not that she let it show. Her fear was that Draco was dead and no one knew about it.  
  
"No, Master Draco is not at this home, who is you?" The house elf was beginning to look angry and Hermione knew that it would be pointless to try and get any real information out of him.  
  
"Oh I am an old school.friend of Draco's and since I hadn't seen him in the longest time I thought that it would be a nice surprise to come and see him, but it doesn't matter I will catch him later on." Hermione smiled to herself when she realised the pun of her words. "Thank-you, sorry I didn't catch your name?" Hermione thought that it would be a good idea to show the poor house elf some kindness before she left.  
  
"My name is Bobby" He squeaked.  
  
"Well thank you Bobby, and if you see Draco can you please let him know that I stopped by." With a waver Hermione turned and left the front porch of the manor however instead of heading down the long drive at the front of the house she took the path along side the house and followed it to the dark wood.  
  
The closer Hermione got to the wood the colder the air became. Pulling her cloak tightly about her she held her chin high and marched towards the wood, she was not going to be frightened by a bunch of trees. Though the small voice in her head whispered that it wasn't the trees that she was frightened of but what might be hiding in or behind those trees. Hermione told the voice to push off and hesitated only slightly as she reached the first band of tress.  
  
"Don't be stupid!" She said to herself as she shook her head and stepped into the wood. While she walked down the small track that had been made between the trees she noticed how strangely quiet it had become and this unnerved her more than the sounds of animals would have.  
  
The wood was dark and Hermione muttered the appropriate words and a light glowed from the end of her wand, illuminating a wide circle around her. Hermione was anxious, the woods surrounding her were quite creepy and the further she walked the colder it got.  
  
After searching for close to an hour and not finding anything Hermione decided that she was not going to find anything from the wood on this night and any other. With that she disapparated and apparated back at her apartment. She quickly lit a fire and put out some food for Crookshanks and finally sat down on her comfortable sofa and closed her and drifted off to sleep.  
  
½ an hour later Hermione was woken by an incessant tapping on her window. Getting up she walked over and let the owl into her lounge room, "Hello Pig" she said as she took the letter that was tied to his leg. "Have you got a letter for me from Ron?" Pig hooted happily and zoomed around the room while Hermione opened the letter and read it.  
  
Dear Hermione,  
  
I hope all is going well with the little job that I set you. I know you will manage to succeed, though why I was asked to get you to do it I will never know! However I can not say too much in here. You never know when a letter will be intercepted!  
  
I had a visit from my lovely twin brothers yesterday, I was so tempted to curse the both of them and send them to Azkaban just for the hell of, they seem to think that now I am the Minister of Magic that I am like Percy. Really they should know better! If Professor Dumbledore hadn't come to visit me at precisely the right moment they probably would be warming twin cells in Azkaban this very moment.  
  
Oh, Lavender has asked me to ask you to dinner when you are free. She seems to think that you being single is not a good thing so she has a nice wizard that she wants you to meet. I told her you probably wouldn't be interested but I promised that I would write you about it.  
  
Ok then, best of luck with your mission and when you have something to report I expect to be the first to know of any developments and I will pass on the information to the interested party.  
  
All the best  
  
Ron Weasley Minister of Magic.  
  
Hermione couldn't help but laugh at the twins behaviour, they knew all the right buttons to push to get Ron riled up, and they did so at every available opportunity. Hermione could not believe that Lavender wished to set her up on another blind date after the last one had gone so terribly, she would just have to tell her no when she saw her next time. Hermione shuddered as she remembered the events of the last date, Cracks had handed her flowers, which she had thought was a nice touch, however they had turned out to be flesh eating stork traps and had instantly tried to attack her and that was just the beginning! After many disasters the final straw for Hermione had been when he tried to demonstrate how well he could juggle fifty plates with food on his head. He tripped and fell on Hermione leaving her covered in food and small cuts. Hermione gave another shudder and quickly scribbled a reply on a scrap piece of parchment.  
  
Ron,  
  
I will send you a long letter when I have something to report.  
  
Tell Lavender thanks but no thanks, I can do without the blind dates and I can finds a date for myself when I want to! But tell her nicely, I don't want to offend her!  
  
Lots of Love Hermione.  
  
Hermione tied the letter to Pigs leg and sent him on his way before crawling into bed and falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.  
  
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A/N: Hey Avrelle-skywalker thank you so much for reviewing! It is nice to know that there is someone out there that is reading my story that actually likes it ;oD I hope that this next chapter doesn't disappoint you! And thanks again!  
  
If there is anyone else out there that is reading my story and has any ideas for me they would be greatly appreciated! :) I could use the help because I am starting to get writer's block! 


	4. And So It Goes On

Chapter 4: And so it Goes On  
  
Hermione woke bright and early the next morning, stretching luxuriously in her queen sized bed, thought being careful not to disturb Crookshanks who had taken up residence at the end of her bed. Hermione didn't want to get out of bed, but her work was calling her, and she had never been one to ignore her work.  
  
After showering and getting ready for the day Hermione sat down at her large oak desk and opened up the Malfoy file once again. Taking out a quill and a piece of parchment she began to list down all of the things that she had discovered over the last two days.  
  
'Ok' Hermione thought to her self, trying to gather her thoughts she sucked on the end of her quill. 'Ok here goes'  
  
Malfoy is no longer living at the Malfoy Manor Malfoy is indeed alive - confirmed by Bobby The wood behind the Manor while creepy is not harboring Malfoy  
  
'Well its not much is it, but that is it so far' Hermione placed her head down on her desk and closed here eyes in hope of clearing her mind so that she may be able to see if she had missed anything.  
  
A tapping on her window made her lift her head, expecting to see Pig again she was surprised to see a tawny coloured owl, after opening up the window he hopped inside and extended his leg so that Hermione could take the letter from his leg.  
  
Dear Hermione,  
  
I have had some luck with your potion and it will be ready at midnight tonight, Luna and I would like you to come for dinner that way we will all have time to catch up while we are waiting for the potion to finish brewing. I was quite pleased when I realised that I already had moonrocks brewing for another potion that I was going to make but I have since changed my mind about that particular potion, so now I don't need your potion to brew for two weeks because I already have had the moonrocks brewing for two weeks. I wonder why I didn't realise that when you were here, but never mind all is done now!  
  
Send a reply with Scatterbrain my owl so that we know what time to expect you if you can make it today.  
  
All the Best  
  
Neville and Luna Longbottom  
  
Hermione looked at the poor owl and laughed, Scatterbrain did suit the poor bird but Hermione hoped that this was not a description of his personality because who knows where the letter could end up!  
  
Dear Neville and Luna,  
  
Thank you so much for making the potion for me and for making it so soon! I would love to come to your house this evening for dinner, say at around 7:30pm? Just warn your plants that I am coming because I don't fancy being squirted with stinksap again.  
  
Thank you again,  
  
Hermione Granger.  
  
With that Hermione tied the letter to the owl and giving him an owl treat sent him on his way. Hermione sat at her desk once again and began to wonder what to do. 'Hmmm, well since there really isn't anything that I can do until I take my potion tonight I guess having a day of wouldn't be to bad, I might go shopping at Diagon Alley and if I'm lucky I may just catch Malfoy walking down the street!' Hermione laughed to herself as she grabbed her wand and cloak and walked out of her apartment towards the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
Walking through the grimy interior Hermione glanced around her looking to see if there was anyone there that she knew. Not seeing anyone she continued through the pub and finally reached the brick wall that would lead her to Diagon Alley. Tapping the bricks in the correct pattern she stood back and watched the brooks move to form an archway. Hermione smiled as she looked at the sun pouring down over the cobbled stones and saw the amount of people walking up and down and going in or out of the many shops. Walking slowly down the alley her first stop was into Flourish and Blotts, she had been expecting a book from there for quite a while and thought that she would go and see if it had come in yet.  
  
"Hello Hermione dear, how are you today?" Asked a small wrinkled witch behind the large counter that took up almost an entire wall of the shop.  
  
"Hello Madame Blush, I am well, how are you?" Hermione smiled at her, they had become quite close over the years that Hermione had discovered she was a witch. This was her favorite shop in Diagon Alley, next to Wesley's Wizarding Wheezes of course!  
  
"Fine deary, just fine. Now I am sure that you are after your copy of 'Transfiguration, beyond your NEWTS' by Professor McGonagall." She smiled at Hermione with a twinkle in her eyes. "Well we finally have it and I also have a surprise for you. There is another new book that I am sure you will be interested in, now just let me find it." She disappeared completely behind the counter and stared there for quite some time.  
  
"Madame Blush are you alright?" Hermione asked, her voice tinged with worry.  
  
"Here it is! Of course I'm fine, I was just having a spot of trouble finding it. Yes here it is, I am sure that you will enjoy this one thoroughly!" There was an excitement to Madame Blush that her body didn't look like it could contain, she was shaking slightly and the smile on her face was so wide that it almost reached from one ear to the other.  
  
"But what is it?" Hermione asked, instead of telling her she just handed the book to Hermione. "What?" Suddenly Hermione laughed in her hands was a copy of a book that she had written. "I can't believe this, did you do this?" Hermione asked. In her hands was a copy of her book 'An Unspeakables guide on how to complete your mission successfully'. Hermione couldn't believe it, she quickly paid for both of the books and made her way to the Ministry, and she couldn't wait to show Ron, Ginny and Harry. (A/N: I know the ministry is supposed to be in London but in this little story I am making it accessible from Diagon Alley :) Hope that doesn't disturb you all too much!)  
  
On her way there she was stopped by Fred and George who were standing out the front of their very successful shop.  
  
"Hey Hermione! How are you going?" They both said at the same time.  
  
"Not bad!! How are the both of you?" Hermione was happy to see the both of them because she hadn't had a chance to catch up with them since Christmas time at the Burrow and that was over three months ago.  
  
"Were good, and we hear you have some good news!" Fred said as George let off one of their fantastic fireworks in celebration.  
  
"How did the two of you know? I only just found out about five minute ago!"  
  
"Mione, you of all people should know that there isn't much going on that we don't know about!" Said George, who began to laugh as two older witches ran and fell to the floor trying to duck the large green dragon that had been chasing them. With a flick of his wand the dragon dissapeared and the two witches stood up and glared at George who in trun smiled and waved at them. Both blushed and turned away and began to walk as quickly as possible from the Weasley twins.  
  
"You two will never change! And I thought that marriage was susposed to have tamed the two of you a little bit! How are both Alicia and Angelina anyway?"  
  
"Good, so where are you headed now?" Fred asked.  
  
"Um, well I was thinking of going to show my book to Harry, Ron and Ginny, but if you two know, I'm sure that they know as well. But I'll still go visit them anyway besides I need to have a word with Ron about something." Hermione said. The twins ears seemed to prick up when Hermione didn't elaborate on what she wanted to talk to Ron about.  
  
"Well then, why do you need to talk to ickle Ronnikins?" George asked.  
  
"Well I realy can't talk to you about it, I am an unspeakable you know! I am susposed to have secrets from people." Hermione said and with a wave she walked off towrds the ministry leaving behind two shocked twins who looked like they were going to try their best to find out her secrets. By the time Hermione had dissapeared around a corner they were whispering together coming up with a plan.  
  
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A/N: Thank you to essence-of-forever and avri who both reviewed. Thanks heaps! It is nice to know there are people out there reading my story who actually like it! ;oD  
  
I hope that all who have read this bit like it! Oh and if anyone has any ideas for how they think the story should go or anything that you think Hermione should do on her mission, feel free to review me and tell me or you can e-mail me at spaced_out_space_cadet@hotmail.com I am open to all suggestions! ;oD 


	5. The Tracking Potion

Chapter 5: The Tracking Potion  
  
Hermione speed towards the Ministry going as fast as she could so that if Fred and George tried to follow her, she would be to far in front to catch up with her. Though Hermione knew that they could apparate quite easily, she was not thinking clearly and forgot about it, because if she had been then she would have done it herself! Looking down at her watch Hermione saw that it was already nearing lunchtime and walking faster than she had been before she went into the secret workers entrance of the Ministry and set out to find Ron and Harry.  
  
Meanwhile Somewhere in Muggle London.  
  
A handsome 22-year-old man was strolling down the busy sidewalk, he was tall and muscular, and his icy blue grey eyes held none of the cold reserve they once had, but they radiated warmth. Blonde hair that had once been slicked back and long was now short and spiky and sticking up all over the place looking like he and just tumbled out of bed, run his hands through it and left it as it was, which was exactly what he had done. His long stride was taking him closer to the music shop where he worked, he looked down at himself and took in the baggy dark blue jeans, tan hiking books and white singlet under his navy open shirt and shook his head, there were still days where he couldn't believe how much life had changed for him since he left the wizarding world four years ago. With a smile on his face, he walked into 'Sounds Alive' the music shop he had been working in for the past year.  
  
It had taken Draco a long while to adjust to the muggle world, and in fact how to survive without magic, but now he had it down pat or so he thought, there were times when he was at home in his small apartment when he looked guiltily around him, even though he knew there was no one there, and did something with magic, like light a fire or help with cooking his meals. When he walked into the shop all of the other workers, especially the new girl Janice, greeted him, Janice was 20 and totally hot and did not hesitate to tell Draco that she thought he was and if he was interested. While Draco was flattered with the attention, he had not done anything to encourage her in fact he had told her quite bluntly that he was not interested in getting involved with her. While Janice had been slightly hurt by his rejection of her, she now saw him as a challenge and tried to come on to him at every available opportunity. When Janice had first made her move, Draco had every intention to take her up on her offer however when he had opened his mouth to say yes he was as surprised as she was when he said "Thanks but no thanks." The old Draco would never have dreamed of turning down a girl like Janice especially when she was offering herself so freely but Draco had changed and even thought there were times when he regretted turning her down, most of the time he was pleased and content with the changes.  
"Hey Draco honey, how you doing?" Janice walked over to Draco and slid behind him pressing against him as she walked around the counter. Draco knew that she had had plenty of room to move with out touching him but did not say anything.  
"I'm fine Jan, how about you? I thought I saw your boyfriend leaving as I got here." If Draco thought that mentioning her boyfriend would discourage her, he was wrong.  
"Oh you know him! He is always checking up on me, the way he is you would think he doesn't trust me," Jan pouted and batted her eyelashes at Draco who shook his head and went to serve a customer.  
  
His day went by quickly because they were so busy, and as the wall clock struck 7:00 pm Draco waved to the others as he left for the day.  
  
"Draco! Draco!" Janice was running as best as she cold in her 5 inch heels, to catch up with him.  
  
Draco stopped, turned, and waited for her to catch up. "Hey, I just thought that I would invite you to a club tonight, all the guys from work are going, but I forgot to mention it to you! You're more than welcome to bring a friend. So are you coming?"  
  
"Um, where are you going?" Draco asked.  
  
"Oh, you know that new place, 'Just Jazz' it is going to be heaps of fun. So?" Jan leaned in towards him hoping to entice him into coming by giving him a glimpse of her ample cleavage.  
  
"Um, I'll think about it, if I decide to come you will see me there otherwise." With that, Draco turned around and walked back to his apartment.  
  
When Draco got to his apartment, he flopped down on his overstuffed caramel sofa and rubbed his face. While many things about him had changed over the past four years there were some things that had not, his lack of friends being one of them. Sure, he was friends with the people that he worked with and whenever he saw his neighbors he always waved and smiled, but he did not have any close friends, no one to confide in. But then again maybe that was a good thing, if he had a muggle friend then who knew what sort of secrets he would have let slip. However, the irony of wanting a muggle friend was not lost on him, Draco Malfoy king of the Purebloods, hater of all things muggle was now almost entirely living as one and pretending that the wizarding world did not exist.  
Later that night after eating a simple meal Draco was watching some television program about a family that was too good to be true, 'The Brady Bunch' or something like that. It was and old show, it was a 'rerun' but Draco had no idea what that meant. Lying on the couch he was contemplating going to that club, jazz music had really grown on him while working in the music store, when he was in a down mood it seemed to flow into his soul and it never failed to make him feel better. Everyone that he had heard talking about 'Just Jazz' were raving about how fantastic it was, so after pulling himself off of the sofa Draco decided that he would make an appearance, besides he may find himself a girl there so that Jan would leave him alone.  
  
After stripping off all of his clothes and standing naked under the hot shower spray Draco let his mind wander back to Hogwarts and his final days there. It seemed like a life time ago that he was there fighting in the hallways with Potty and Weasel and bucktooth Granger. But she wasn't a bucktooth anymore, he remembered after he had jinxed her and she had visited the hospital wing she came back with perfectly straight and even teeth. Thought that hadn't stopped him from picking on her and throwing the occasional jinx at her for the remainder of their time at school together. He wondered what had happened to her, and not for the first time. There was something about Granger that stuck in his mind; it could have been that she was the only girl who ever really stood up to him, or it could be the fact that in their fourth year she had slapped him so hard across the face that he had the imprint of her hand for almost an hour. She was feisty, he had to giver her that, but she had also been an annoying know it all who's worst nightmare would be to only score 99/100. It was because she was so annoying, he reasoned, that he still thought of her at all. He guessed that she would be working at the ministry, with Potty and Weasel, the dream team together always. With a scowl on his face he stepped from the shower and dressed in baggy black jeans with a black shirt. He almost never wore black anymore because the colour reminded him to much of his father, but Draco also knew that black looked good on him and tonight he wanted to look better than ever. He had a strange feeling that something out of the ordinary was going to happen tonight and he couldn't put his finger on it.  
  
Back to Hermione.  
  
Hermione stood out the front of the Longbottom home and cautiously knocked on the front door. Thankfully no stinksap was squirted at her this time, Neville must have warned that plant like she asked him to. Moments later the front door was opened by Luna looking as odd as ever in a floor length dress that seemed to be made entirely of leaves, and on her head was a hat that was a lion with a raven on its back. Hermione was startled by her appearance but was careful not to let it show.  
"Hello Luna, how are you?" With a smile on her face Hermione was ushered in the house and she followed the silent Luna towards the dinning room. "Um, Luna are you ok?" Hermione was beginning to worry, Luna was acting strange. well stranger than usual. She just nodded and motioned for me to follow her.  
  
"Hello Hermione, don't mind Luna she is trying out a potion for me that I have invented, not sure how long the not talking will last, it is a bit of a nasty side effect that I hadn't planed on, but you know these things happen!" Neville was smiling at her, he was carrying a large tray of food and he placed it in the middle of the table.  
  
"Hello Neville." Hermione was unsure of how to respond to Neville making his own potions, though even she had to admit that since he had left school and the treat of Professor Snape he had flourished and he was regarded quite highly in the Wizarding world for his great knowledge of plants and for of course his extensive greenhouses. His making of potions was still quite mediocre, though the more plants of his that were used the better his potions. That was why Hermione had turned to him to make the tracking potion for her and she had not attempted it herself.  
  
Their meal went by quite smoothly considering that Luna could not talk and Neville, who was known for his clumsiness at Hogwarts, did not spill a single drink. Before they knew it Midnight had rolled around and it was time for Hermione to take the tracking potion.  
  
Down in Neville's lab Hermione was perched on the edge of her stool while Neville was stirring the mixture one last time before spooning it into a vial that Hermione could drink from.  
  
"Ok Hermione, when you drink this, your mind has to be full of the person that you want to find. Their name, face or any memories, if you have any of course, of that person. Otherwise the potion will not work. Now what will happen when you drink this is that you will feel a little sick to your stomach but that will pass quite quickly and then you will see pictures in your head, they could be of where the person lives or where they are at that exact moment, the longer you close your eyes the more fragments or pictures you will see. Now the potion will last you exactly one hour, I will give you some more to take with you but you are only allowed to take it this once and then again another time. If you take it any more than that it could cause serious side effects, which I'm sure you don't want." Neville smiled as he said this and handed Hermione the vial that he had filled.  
  
"Thank you so much for this Neville, after I take this I wont be able to stay, I want to leave straight away, the sooner I find this person the better."  
  
"I understand, next time though don't leave it six moths before we see you." Neville smiled again and watcher Hermione take her potion.  
  
Hermione looked at Neville and smiled back, "Well bottoms up!" She said and she scrunched her eyes up tightly and grabbed her stomach as the potion made its way down. She felt incredibly sick but the pain was gone in an instant and she saw a large caramel sofa, which looked so comfortable she wanted to lay down on it. Then the picture changed and she saw the city by night, the picture changed again and she saw a club that she had heard about 'Just Jazz' she had wanted to go there herself but hadn't had the time. It looked like she was going to go there now.  
  
Hermione opened her eyes and thanked Neville and Luna as she ran out the door and seconds later with a pop she was in her apartment and in her bedroom looking for some suitable clothes to wear. After changing into a skintight red halter dress with a flared skirt and matching heels, and putting her hair up in a loose bun with curls hanging down all over the place. She looked good and she knew it. Her appearance had changed a lot since her school days, her hair had tamed itself and was now a mass of curls and she had put red highlight in her hair that matched her dress. Before she left she scribbled a note to Ron,  
  
Dear Ron,  
  
I have a good lead on our missing person. Hopefully it pans out I'm leaving right now! I'll get back to you as soon as possible with all the details, I don't want to miss this lead!  
  
Say Hi to Lav,  
  
Hermione.  
  
Ron wasn't going to be happy with the lack of details in the letter but at the moment she really didn't care. Besides it was him that always complained about putting too much in a letter, because 'you never know who could intercept it Hermione!' Hermione tied the letter to the leg of her owl Serendipity and let her out of the window.  
  
Hermione could feel the excitement building up in her, she always got this way when she could feel the end of a mission. Hermione was unable to wipe the smile off of her face as she grabbed her purse with room for her wand with a pop she left her apartment and re appeared a block away from 'Just Jazz' where no one could see that she had appeared out of thin air.  
  
Walking towards the club she realised that she was nervous. At Hogwarts she and Draco had been enemies, they fought all of the time and they never lost a chance to jinx one another. Hermione knew that even if she found Draco at the club tonight her mission would be far from over, 'in fact' she thought with a feeling of dread, 'it was about to begin'.  
  
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A/N: Thank you to essence-of-forever and avri who both reviewed again! And to Befuzzled who reviewed as well! Thank-you! By the way, here is Draco as you requested, I hope that you like! :) Sorry it took so long for me to let him make an appearance but I wanted to get that whole background thing out of the way!  
  
Remember you can e-mail me at spaced_out_space_cadet@hotmail.com if you have any ideas for this story! 


	6. Face to Face

Chapter Six: Face to Face  
  
The club was wall-to-wall people and Draco decided that while the night had been fun it was time for him to leave, looking down at his watch, he saw it was 2:00 am. Not that it really mattered he never started work before lunchtime so he could sleep in.  
  
Hermione looked down at her watch as she reached the front of the club, and saw that is was just passed 2:00 am. The door opened and the soulful sound of Norah Jones poured out, not noticing the man that was leaving the club Hermione plowed right into a very hard very muscular chest, her hands snaked around his waist so that she could regain her balance. "Oh, I am so sorry!" She exclaimed. The scent of expensive spicy after shave floated to her nostrils and Hermione took an appreciative sniff.  
  
"That's alright," Draco had his arms around the woman that had tried to knock him over. "Are you alright?" He said his voice tinged with concern. The woman in his harms was soft and curvy and when he looked down he was able to look straight down her top and into the shadow between her breasts. The scent of a floral fragrance wafted up and Draco couldn't help but breath in deeply the fresh and feminine scent of the woman in his arms.  
  
"I'm fine, thank you." It was then that Hermione looked up and gasped. She was looking into familiar blue grey eyes, which had widened in shock. "Malfoy?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Granger, what are you doing here?" He asked.  
  
Hermione thought for a moment and decided that the truth was the best way to go she had nothing to lose. "I was looking for you actually." She said.  
  
"Why," the familiar scowl was on Draco's face and Hermione could not help but wince at it. Though on the outside Draco looked furious on the inside he felt a small stab of pleasure before he quickly shut it down and told himself to get a grip.  
  
"In all honesty Malfoy, I think that this is a conversation that we best have in private, you never know who could over hear us." Hermione said looking around her. They were getting strange looks from the people around them because Hermione was still in Draco's arms. Draco looked around him, grabbed Hermione by the arm and stalked off down the street. Hermione could barley keep up with him because of his long stride and the fact that she was trying to run in her high heels.  
  
Draco did not say a word until they were in his apartment, Hermione saw the caramel sofa and smiled and she went and sat down on it.  
  
"Why were you looking for me?" His voice was harsh and Hermione cringed.  
  
"Look Draco, I work for the Ministry now, I am an unspeakable, so I really can't tell you too much about what I do. Generally I deal wit. mysteries however, occasionally I get special requests to find people that have been missing since the end of the war. I get asked because I am good at it; I have never failed to find someone. But that is not what you asked. You want to know why I am looking for you specifically, and I have to tell you even I do not know that one. Two days ago I received a message from Ron, he's the Minister of Magic now, (a look of disgust came over Draco's face) to find you as a special request from Professor Dumbledore." Hermione chose to ignore the look that had passed over his face at the mention of Ron. Hermione was looking intently at Draco while she talked and what she saw she liked, he was taller, over 6 foot and she knew for a fact that under his shirt was a muscular body, it had almost hurt her when she ran into it because it was so hard.  
  
"You expect me to believe that?" Draco looked at her incredulously.  
  
"Of course I expect you to believe that, it is the truth." Hermione was a little confused at his questioning her because she did not lie.  
  
"Well you found me, now what?" Draco's eyes had regained their icyness and Hermione was beginning to feel intimidated though she did not want Draco to know this. 'Hermione has changed' Draco thought, 'in that dress she looks like pure sin, and the fact that she knew how to style her hair now worked wonders for her,' Draco did a mental head shake and focused on what she was saying to him.  
  
"Well I promised Professor Dumbledore that I would take you to him. So I guess when you are ready I will create a portkey and we will go to Hogwarts to see him." Hermione looked up at Draco and watching him pacing the room.  
  
"What makes you think that I want to go back to Hogwarts, or to the wizarding world?" Draco asked.  
  
Hermione was taken aback by this. "What do you mean? Don't you want to come back and see why Dumbledore wants to see you?"  
  
"I am happy here Hermione, happy, for the first time in my life and I don't you or Dumbledore coming here and ruining everything!" Draco was so angry that his normally pale face was tinged with red. Hermione caught herself thinking that she had never seen a man who looked more gorgeous.  
  
"You just called me Hermione." She said stupidly, she was still in shock with herself for still thinking about him in a way that was totally inappropriate to her assignment.  
  
"What are you talking about? Oh, yes well you called me Draco so I thought that well. never mind that now." He was still red in the face but this time it was because of embarrassment. In his mind he always thought of her as Hermione, but he didn't want her to know that.  
  
"Well, look Dumbledore wouldn't have asked me to find you if it wasn't important. Draco please will you come back with me?" Hermione didn't want to beg him but with the way things were going it looked like she was going to have to.  
  
"I told you, I am happy living here as a muggle, my life is simple and I don't have to worry about. people," he said after a slight pause.  
  
"You mean your father don't' you?" Hermione asked wisely. She had suspected for a long time that Lucius Malfoy had been an overbearing and controlling man, and the fact that he even had his own wife under the Imperious curse without the knowledge of his son, was disturbing. Lucius Malfoy was forced to take Veritaserum so that they would be able to know the truth once and for all. Hermione had been present at his hearing, as she was a member of the Wizengamot, the youngest ever. Lucius had also admitted to beating his son and forcing him to be a deatheater, though he admitted that he had failed this as Draco had escaped him before the ceremony could be preformed. It was around this time that Hermione began to feel sorry for her one time enemy and in fact began to understand his behaviour, because if he hadn't acted as he had then he would have suffered more beatings at the hands of his father. While Hermione thought that perhaps if the situations had been reversed she would have acted differently but she did understand his need for self-preservation. "Draco, I'm not sure if you heard anything considering your absence from the wizarding world, but your father he was caught and named as a deatheater by many reliable witnesses, and he was tried in front of the Wizengamot and found guilty, as a result of his horrific crimes to not only muggles, muggle-born's and wizards and witches, including placing your mother under the Imperious curse, he was found guilty." Hermione looked over at Draco who had sunk onto the sofa next to her at the news that his mother had been under the Imperious curse.  
  
He held his head in his hands as tentatively asked, "what happened to him?"  
  
Hermione looked over at him and placed a hand on his muscular forearm, "I was there, I saw it happen and there was nothing anyone could do. after he confessed a dementor swooped down on him and. well. he kissed him, I'm sorry Draco."  
  
Draco looked down at Hermione's hand and placed one of his over hers. "It is ok, I guess in a way I am relieved and a little guilty at feeling relieved. How is my mother?"  
  
"I don't really know, Professor Dumbledore looked after her for a while and helped her come to terms with all that had happened, but I haven't seen her since after the trial."  
  
All of the news that Hermione had given Draco was making him feel tired and the fact that the wall clock read 4:37 am was another reason. Hermione yawned witch triggered Draco to do the same.  
  
"Sorry about that but it has been a long day, and an even longer one for you. I am going to go now, I know where to find you and I will come to see you again, I made a promise that I intend to see fulfilled. You, however have a lot to think about." Hermione looked over at him and realised that they were still holding hands, however she made no more to remover hers, it felt nice to have Draco hold her hand though Hermione was a little confused at the warm feelings that the simple act was giving her. Draco was also looking at their entwined hands and the same warm feelings were rushing through his body. It was these warm feelings that had him opening his mouth and saying, "You are more than welcome to spend the night here, I don't have a spare bed but you are welcome to share mine, I promise not to attack you during the night."  
  
Hermione looked into his eyes and searched them for a moment, apparently she saw what she was looking for because she smiled and said, "that would be much appreciated and I do trust you Draco besides if you get a little frisky I have my wand I you know that I know some good jinx's that I can use." They both laughed and tugging Hermione buy the hand they both stood and went to Draco's bedroom.  
  
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A/N: Ta muchly to Befuzzled and xoxmalfoysminexox for reviewing! I'm glad you like it and hope that this new chapter is to your liking.  
  
Ta again Avri!!! I hope that you enjoy this Draco filled chapter, he is pretty much going to be in it the whole time for the rest of the story, so I'm glad that you like it! :)  
  
Sorry that this is short, well I think it's short anyway but that looked like a good place to stop however never fear I have a couple of ideas and the next chapter will be up shortly, how am I doing with the whole updating thing anyway? I think I am being quite quick but then again you may not agree!! Lol!  
  
I have an idea for another fanfic! It is going to be pure fluff featuring all of your fave characters, so look out for it, I don't know when I will be able to post it but hopefully it will be soon!  
  
Remember you can e-mail me at spaced_out_space_cadet@hotmail.com if you have any ideas for this story! 


	7. Draco’s Decisions and Conditions

Chapter 7: Draco's Decisions and Conditions  
  
Sunlight filtered in through the cracks in the blinds and highlighted the sleeping couple. During the night they had snuggled up to each other so Draco was spooned behind Hermione with his arms wrapped around her and she snuggled into him. Suddenly there was a loud buzzing from the bedside table and had Draco's arms not been around Hermione she would have hit the ceiling from fright. Draco reached around her and slammed his hand down and the buzzing stopped immediately. Hermione rolled over to face Draco and was caught again at how handsome he was even half asleep, Draco was thinking the same thing as a sleep rumpled Hermione looked him in the eye.  
  
"I have to get ready for work now, how about you stay here and get some more sleep and meet me at work at 5:00 p.m., when I finish? We can get some food and talk more about. well everything."  
  
"Sounds good to me." Hermione smiled at him as he rolled out of bed and watched his sexy ass walk into the bathroom wearing only a pair of satin green and silver boxers. Hermione rolled over and fell asleep, though a little while later she felt a pair of lips brush her forehead and a smiled settled on her face as she snuggled deep into the pillow she was hugging. Hermione dreamed that she was walking in a field that was filled with flowers and walking towards her was a man, she ran forward trying to see who he was but he disappeared before she could see his face, and she sat down and began to cry. Suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder and she looked up into the blue grey of Draco, he wiped the tears from her cheeks and bent down and slowly kissed her lips. Hermione woke up at that point and there was a smile on her face, last night Draco had been the perfect gentleman and Hermione had to admit that she was a little surprised. She thought that Draco would have tried to put the moves on her since they were sharing a bed but he did nothing of the sort and Hermione found that she now had a respect for him that she didn't have previously. Thoughts of his kiss on her forehead kept her company through out the day and the smile would not leave her face.  
  
Before leaving the apartment, Draco drew Hermione directions to his work so that she would have no trouble finding him later on in the day. Hermione spent a very lazy in Draco's apartment she felt very comfortable there, to her it felt like her own apartment. When it came time for her to leave Hermione e straightened the apartment and couldn't help but smile as she left and quickly looked around her before taking out her want and locking the apartment.  
  
Still wearing the revealing outfit from the night before, Hermione was catching many appreciative glances from the men that she passed but they had no effect on her, her mind was on the gorgeous man that she was going to meet. When Hermione reached Draco's work she discreetly checked herself out in the front window to make sure that she looked her best, deciding that she looked as good as she was going to she pushed open the door and looked around for Draco. When he spotted her standing near the door Draco left Jan even though she had been in the middle of saying something, he sauntered over to her gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Hermione blushed and looked up at him with a smile, unable to resist Draco placed a light kiss on her lips grabbed her hand and shouting "good bye" to his work mates left the store.  
  
Hermione was flushed in the face but was happy, all day she had thought about Draco and she liked the changes that she sensed in him. Draco had thought of nothing but Hermione all day, sleeping with her in his arms had felt like heaven and her sent had stayed with him all day making it very hard to concentrate on work.  
  
They walked to a trendy little café for dinner and Hermione decided it was time to try to convince Draco to go to see Dumbledore. After ordering their meals Hermione looked up at Draco to find him looking directly at her, Hermione smiled and looked deep into his eyes.  
  
"Draco, I think that it is time that we talked about you going to visit Dumbledore." Hermione blushed slightly but kept her head high, she had never believed in beating around the bush, especially when she thought that the topic was important.  
  
"Hermione, why is it so important to you? I am happy as a muggle, something that I never thought was possible but amazingly I am. While in a way I am gladdened by the news that my father is no longer able to torment me my life as a wizard was not a happy one and I am in no hurry to return to that life."  
  
"What if this time you could be happy? I'm sure that your mother wishes to see you now that she is herself and not a puppet of your fathers, though you and I didn't get along at Hogwarts and I never would have admitted then, you are a great wizard and I am sure that without your father there you would be able to build a happy life for yourself there. Besides it is unhealthy to suppress a part of yourself. Or have you been doing magic even while living as a muggle?"  
  
The blush that tinged Draco's cheeks was answer enough and Hermione laughed softly. "Is it that important that I see Dumbledore?" he asked again, looking deep into her eyes as he did so. They paused as their food was delivered but as soon as the waitress disappeared they began their discussion again as if there had been no interruption.  
  
"I wouldn't keep asking you if I didn't believe so. Besides I have never failed a mission and I know that you wouldn't like to ruin my perfect track record, would you?" Hermione was flirting with Draco, something that she never thought that she would be doing! Draco didn't seem to mind though.  
  
"Ok, I will go to see Dumbledore, though I am making no promises as to weather I will stay or not," Hermione's face lit up at this and then, "however there is a condition." Hermione frowned and Draco looked positively gleeful.  
  
"Um, ok what is your condition?" Hermione asked nervously. Again Draco flashed a purely evil smile.  
  
"The condition is. (Hermione began to fidget at his pause) that you will spend the night with me." Hermione smiled at this.  
  
"No problem, I did that last night so I guess I could do it again tonight."  
  
"No I don't think that you catch my meaning, you will spend tonight with me and I doubt that we will get much sleep, I have other things in mind to keep us occupied."  
  
Hermione blushed and dropped her fork with a clatter onto her plate. They caught some curious glances from the other diners however the couple took no notice of their surroundings. Hermione thought for a moment and continued to blush under Draco's stare. Draco appeared cool, calm and collected on the outside, however on the inside he was a quivering mess and something told him that her answer would change both of their lives forever.  
  
"Draco, I. Um. wait, I want to get my wording right." She looked down at her hands and thought for a moment. "Draco I like you, but I have never. what I mean to say is that I, well I have never. well you know." Hermione's cheeks were flushed bright red and Draco's face split into a wide smile.  
  
"Well then that would make it all the more special wouldn't it."  
  
"I guess that. yes it would. Ok Draco I will but you have to understand if we do this I don't want a one night stand, you have to be serious about this because I will be expecting a commitment from you, and if you aren't prepared to make one then I will go see Dumbledore tonight and tell him where to find you."  
  
"Hermione, I wouldn't offer you anything less. I promise you that this will not be a one night stand." Hermione smiled at Draco, and looking at her he stood up threw his napkin on the table opened his wallet and threw some bills on the table before grabbing Hermione's hand and led her from the café towards his home.  
  
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A/N: Ok guys! Sorry that this one is a little short but that looked like a good place to stop. I will be posting soon, I hope! If I get stuck into the chapter it should be posted tonight, tomorrow at the latest! Hope you enjoyed!  
  
I would like to thank michula, bunnie and avri (again :) ) avri, you deserve heaps and heaps of thanks because you have been my most frequent reviewer, so this chapter is just for you!! And thanks especially to michula for being honest! I hope that you are happy with this chapter and the developments between Draco and Hermione.  
  
Remember spaced_out_space_cadet@hotmail.com if you wanna e-mail me, come on guys I need some suggestions, I'm gonna run out of plot soon enough! 


	8. The Meeting with Dumbledore

Chapter 8: The Meeting with Dumbledore  
  
Hermione was very nervous and if Draco hadn't help her hand the entire walk back to his apartment she would have fallen over many times or in fact chickened out all together! Though Gryffindor's were supposed to be brave Hermione felt none of this as she looked up Draco. When they returned to his apartment Draco turned to look at Hermione trying to read something in her eyes. He opened the front door and led her in and told her to sit on the sofa.  
  
"Hermione I know that I made us sleeping together a condition of my going to see Dumbledore, but if your not ready or you really don't want to, then I will understand, I mean I wont be happy but I will understand. I told you that this would not be a one night stand, I want a relationship with you."  
  
"Draco, sit with me a minute," she gestured for him to sit next to her on the sofa, "I want to do this Draco but I would be lying if I said that I wasn't scared or a little but nervous. I can sense the change within you Draco and know this, if I didn't feel something for you, something more than just like then we wouldn't be having this conversation." Hermione was looking down at her hands and Draco lent over and took them both in his. It was only then that Hermione looked up into his eyes.  
  
"Hermione, I care about you, I think that I always have, even when you were an annoying know-it-all at Hogwarts, in fact I think that I started to like you back in our fourth year when you slapped me, (Hermione blushed at this), I would never do anything to hurt you. Hermione I can't promise you marriage because I don't know what will be happening with my life yet, but once I know what life I will lead then we can decide together whether we still want to be apart of each others lives." Draco wasn't going to beg for Hermione to sleep with him but he knew that this was probably one of the most important conversations he was ever going to have.  
  
"Draco I am sure now," Hermione smiled, the biggest smile he had ever seen on her face, "but before we do anything would you mind if I have a shower and. get ready?" Draco laughed softly and nodded, besides he had plans for the remainder of this evening and he wanted things to go perfectly.  
  
While Hermione was in the shower Draco took out his wand from it's hiding place and magiced a roaring fire, he then turned off all of the lights and magiced some candles, though because of lack of practice with his wand he had to run around the room moving most of them because he almost set his curtains on fire in more than one spot. Moving his sofa out of the way Draco spread out some blankets and a mattress on the floor so that they could lie in front of the fire with out being uncomfortable. Draco looked down at his clothes and decided to change before Hermione came out of the bathroom. Taking of the clothes that he had worn all day Draco stood in front of his wardrobe wearing nothing but black silk boxer shorts with green and sliver dragons on them. Deciding that less was probably best Draco grabbed his black silk robe from the back of the door and put that on. Smiling he walked into the lounge room again and took a bottle of wine from the kitchen. While he didn't want to get Hermione drunk he thought that the wine would help relax her nerves.  
  
Getting tired of waiting for her Draco decided to lie in front of the fire, and he dozed off. Hermione found him moments later and couldn't help the smile that came to her face. He was lying with his hands behind his head and his robe had opened up to reveal his boxer shorts and his tightly muscled chest and abs. The man was gorgeous, no other words could describe him, 'though' Hermione thought, 'perfection does come close'. Walking over to him Hermione dropped the shirt of Draco's that she had borrowed and walked naked over to him. Slipping down onto the mattress Hermione lent over and kissed Draco softly on the cheek, he moved slightly but remained asleep, Hermione then kissed his other cheek, and still he did not wake. Hermione continued to rain soft kisses on his face then she leaned down and pressed her lips to his. Draco responded immediately, though he was still asleep. Hermione ran her hand over Draco's body and only when she cupped him in her hand did he wake up.  
  
Draco had been dreaming that he was in a field of flowers running to Hermione, however when he got close she disappeared, so he lay down in the field and looked up into the sky. Suddenly she was there kissing him and laughing until Draco felt a hand cupping him intimately and he woke up instantly. Hermione was in fact kissing him only this time they were in his apartment and this was no dream. He smiled at Hermione, and removed her adventurous hand. "Hermione I had planed on taking this slow, and if you keep doing things like that it will be over a lot quicker than I planed." Hermione giggled and sat back looking at him with satisfaction written on her face.  
  
"Draco, you looked so good lying there that I couldn't resist. But since you want to take it slow and I feel a little underdressed I better put that shirt back on." Hermione make a move to grab the shirt but Draco  
used his quick reflexes and grabbed her hand.  
  
"Now you wouldn't want to do that, besides you look unbelievably spectacular just as you are." Hermione blushed and Draco chuckled at her.  
He leant up and kissed her again and Hermione soon forgot her embarrassment. His kisses were making her bold and she reached over to him  
and pulled his robe off of him and threw it across the room. His boxers didn't last much longer and Hermione pulled back so that she could look at him. Draco was a little shy but he let Hermione look her fill. She smile and whispered, "perfect," before draping herself on top of him and kissing  
him again.  
  
They each began to caress one another each caress became more and more heated until they were both panting with desire. Draco rolled Hermione underneath him and looked down at her, her face was flushed and there was a smile on her face, Draco knew that he must look the same and the smile on  
his face widened. Her eyes were deep brown pools of desire and Draco couldn't get enough of looking into them. "Are you ready?" Hermione nodded and Draco pushed himself into her. He went as slowly as he could and once he was fully sheathed inside of her he stopped and looked at her. Her face held an expression of mild discomfort but that quickly passed and Hermione looked up at him and impishly said, "well? What are you waiting for?" they both laughed and the sounds soon turned to groans as Draco began to move,  
each stroke taking them closer and closer to fulfillment until suddenly they both reached their peak at the same time and floated down together,  
wrapped in each others arms.  
  
Hermione looked at Draco and he at her and at the same time they said, "I love you." And both blushed deeply. Draco laughed softly and took Hermione in a deep hug. "I mean it you know," he said, "Yes I know, and you  
know that I mean it."  
  
Afterwards they slept, waking up many times during the night to make  
love. They awoke much later than either of them had intended to however  
that didn't seem to matter they were both blissfully happy and couldn't help but look deeply into each others eyes and sigh and smile. Because it was Sunday Draco didn't need to work and after cleaning up the apartment and putting away the forgotten bottle of wine they showered together before Hermione turned a book of Draco's into a portkey that would take them to  
her apartment where she could change.  
  
"Wow Hermione, I love your apartment, thought I must say that there aren't as many books as I thought there would be." Draco couldn't help but tease her.  
  
"Well there isn't any room for another bookshelf is there. You can wait in here while I change, feel free to look around if you want to." So  
while she was gone Draco did just that and laughed when he saw the book  
that she wrote. He picked it up and flipped through it. When Hermione  
finally emerged from her room dressed and skintight jeans and a tight fitting long sleeved v-neck top and a jacket over her arm, Draco couldn't  
help but tease her. "I think that you need to add in a new chapter, you  
know about making deals that involve nights filled with love making."  
Hermione blushed and swatted his hand.  
  
"Behave yourself Draco! And you know for a fact that I have never  
done that before! Anyway I know you are just stalling for more time, we should and see Professor Dumbledore now." Draco nodded and the smile left his face, he was beginning to feel apprehensive though he knew that he had  
nothing to fear from Dumbledore.  
  
"Ok, lets go then." He grabbed Hermione's hand while she once again  
turned the book into a portkey this time one that would take them to Hogwarts and with a familiar tug behind their navels they were transported to Hogwarts grounds. Draco caught Hermione before she could fall and they both began to walk towards the front doors.  
  
Draco felt a little nervous as he walked with Hermione up to the giant doors of Hogwarts. Hermione had waved to Hagrid and called out that she would be over to visit him later on. Draco felt reassured to have Hermione's hand tucked into his. He thought that she would have regrets after the previous evening however she positively glowed and her happiness was rubbing of on him, even if he still felt nervous. It had been so long since he had last been here and he hadn't left on happy terms. Once again Draco couldn't help but wonder what Dumbledore wanted with him, but knew not to ask Hermione again because she simply did not know.  
  
Hermione could feel his nervousness but knew there was nothing that she could do but squeeze his hand encouragingly and take him to Dumbledore. Hermione was blissfully happy after last night, she was in love with Draco and he loved her back, and even though he had not made her any promises she  
could wait, because she knew that all good things took time.  
  
Once they were inside they followed the familiar route to Dumbledores' office, however they had only taken a few steps before they  
were stopped by a familiar sneering voice, "Ah, Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Professor Snape stood in front of them and raised his eyebrows slightly at their entwined hands but did not  
question it.  
  
"Hello Professor, we are here to see Professor Dumbledore, if you  
would kindly tell us the password or guide us we would be grateful."  
Hermione said and had to hide a smile when a familiar sneer came to the  
potion masters face.  
  
"I shall take the both of you, follow me." Draco and Hermione looked at each other and this time didn't bother to hide their smiles. There were many young students walking around the castle and Hermione noticed the many stares that they were getting. Professor Snape acted like there was no one  
else around him and walked briskly towards Dumbledores office.  
  
"Ice Mice." Said Snap and the gargoyles moved aside so that they  
could enter.  
  
"Welcome back Mr. Malfoy it has been quite some time. Ah and yes  
hello again Miss Granger."  
  
They both politely replied and waited for Professor Dumbledore to  
state the purpose of Hermione's mission to find Draco.  
  
"Well I can tell that the both of you are extremely curious as to why I wanted to find you Draco, well I must confess two reasons. Your mother came to see me not to long ago and requested that if I could would I find  
her son. She has missed you greatly since you disappeared Draco and now that the threat of your father has been completely removed she wanted you to know that you could safely return to your home." Draco nodded at this,  
but he still had questions.  
  
"Professor, I must ask you why this mission was deemed to be urgent I was not really that far I must confess that while I wished not to return there was a part of me that didn't want to move to far just incase one day I changed my mind. So I think that the first question I ask is why now?"  
  
"Ah Draco, this news I deliver to you not without a heavy heart. Your mother is gravely ill, there is nothing that can be done for her condition and it was her request that she see you before she passes away that made it urgent that you be found." Draco looked alarmed at this news and Hermione placed her arm around his shoulder for comfort. "Draco I must say that any other questions be put on hold for a short while, while you go and visit your mother. She is here in our hospital wing." Professor Dumbledore stood up and grabbed a small pot of floo power, come here the both of you, take this and clearly say Hospital Wing and you can both see Narcissa." Each did as they were told and in seconds they were in the hospital wing and Draco was running towards his mothers bedside. Hermione stood back and watched  
the scene with a tear in her eye.  
  
"Draco honey, is that you? Is it really you?" Came a weak voice.  
  
"Yes mother, it is me." Draco grasped her hand and brought it to his  
lips.  
  
"Oh, I never thought that I would see you again," she struggled to sit and with the assistance of her son she was able to. She leaned over and  
gave him a large hug, which he returned.  
  
"Mother, don't cry, I thought that you would be happy to see me, if I  
knew that it would make you cry I wouldn't have come." He said half  
teasingly half truthfully.  
  
"Oh my boy, they are tears of happiness. I am so glad that you have come back, I wanted to make peace with you before I die. I was a horrible  
mother, you deserved so much better."  
  
"No, don't say that mother, you were the best you could be while under the control of father, and you still managed to do a good job, if I do say so myself." She half laughed half-sobbed and hugged her son again. "Mother, we have plenty of time to talk about the past, but at the moment I  
would like you to meet Hermione Granger, she is the one who found me."  
Draco turned and was surprised when he couldn't find her. Hermione had walked and sat down next to an empty bed a little way aways so as not to  
disturb the two. "Hermione, what are you doing over here, I want you to  
meet my mother." Hermione looked up and smiled.  
  
"Ok Draco." He took her hand and led her over to his mother who was eyeing the two knowingly. 'This girl is important to my son,' she thought  
and a genuine smile lit her face, 'it is about time my Draco had some  
happiness.'  
  
"Hello Hermione Granger." She said  
  
"Hello Mrs. Malfoy, I hope that you are feeling well."  
  
"Yes dear I am, though I suspect that I do not have much more time  
here Dumbledore has seen to my care and I could not have better care. Though it saddens me to say this, I think that the two of you should return  
to Dumbledore's office, I am tired and I think that I need some rest."  
Draco nodded and lent down to kiss his mothers cheek.  
  
"I will come and see you again later mother, rest well." Narcissa had  
fallen asleep before they had left the room.  
  
"You have seen your mother?" asked Dumbledore one they were in his office  
again.  
  
"Yes we have. What is wrong with her Professor? Why is there nothing that can heal her?" Draco was worried and even holding the hand of his love  
could not ease the worry.  
  
"Your mother was severely weakened by the Imperious curse and that made her immune system very low, so now all she has to do it catch a common  
cold and she becomes gravely ill. There is no potion available that can  
make her better and I have had Professor Snape look but still there is  
nothing. Unless something is found soon the next cold that she catches  
could be the one that takes her away from us." Professor Dumbledores  
normally twinkling eyes had lost of all of their shine and with sadness etched into his face he looked very old indeed. "Now I believe that I told you there were two reasons that I wanted to have you found, the first has been explained to you, however the second reason involves the both of you." At this they both looked up at with surprise and the twinkle was back in  
Dumbledore's eyes.  
  
"The both of us Professor? You mean that there was a reason that I  
was specifically chosen for this job?"  
  
"Of course Miss Granger, if it had not been for me young Mr. Weasley would have sent someone else and that would not have done. Apart from the fact that you are the best tracker the Ministry has ever had that was not my only reason for requesting that you were specifically chosen. If I had told my reasons I could guarantee you that Mr. Weasley would have chosen someone else, he always protective of you." Hermione blushed at the praise from Dumbledore and he couldn't help but chuckle. "The reason that I wanted you Miss Granger was that, back when you were both students here I noticed a connection between the two of you, and if you couldn't only stop fighting for a moment that you would see it yourselves. However the two of you did not stop fighting and then young Draco here left before I could give you  
both a helping hand."  
  
"You were matchmaking?" They both yelled at the same time. Dumbledore  
far from being alarmed laughed heartily.  
  
"I must admit I am an old romantic at heart and I knew that the two  
of you were perfect for each other, you just needed a little help in  
realising it yourselves. I was not wrong was I?"  
  
They both sat with their mouths open in shock until Draco laughed. Hermione looked over at him still in shock until she too began to laugh.  
  
"Though I may not agree with your methods Professor I am grateful. You lead me to Hermione, I am able to see my real mother and I can return to the wizarding world a happy man. Thank you Professor." Draco put his arm around Hermione and kissed her lips. Dumbledore sat back in his chair and  
the smile on his face was wide.  
  
"I think that the two of you would benefit from a walk around the grounds, you must stay for the feast tonight, and that way you will be able to visit with your mother again after. You are welcome to stay here for the night, I think that the old Head girl and Head boy dorm is vacant and you  
can use those if you wish."  
  
"Thank-you Professor, a walk sounds lovely." Hermione said dreamily  
as she and Draco stood to leave.  
  
"The password is 'lovebirds'" Draco and Hermione both laughed as they left Dumbledores office hand in hand, walking towards the sun drenched land  
surrounding the castle.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A/N: Howdy! Well this is something new, posting twice in one day! I think that the next chapter will be the last of this story, let me know if you have any ideas for how you want it to end!! I don't have any dedications this chapter because no one has had a chance to review my last chapter! Now you can either send me suggestions for the next chapter and/or the end of  
the story by reviewing or you can e-mail me at spaced_out_space_cadet@hotmail.com I look forward to getting some ideas!! I have a couple but if there is anything that you want to happen let me know, cause I aim to please those who like my story! Oh and look out for another  
story I will be posting soonish, I haven't started writing it yet but I have a few ideas! Hope to hear from you soon ;o) 


	9. Happy Endings

Chapter 9: Happy Endings  
  
Hermione and Draco walked hand in hand across the sprawling emerald green lawns and neither said anything, they both just walked quietly lost in their own thoughts and taking in the beauty around them. They finally reached the lake and sat under a tree that Hermione had sat under countless times before while doing her homework. Draco placed his arm around Hermione's shoulders and she lent her head o his shoulder. The students that were outside left the couple well alone so Draco and Hermione could only hear occasional shouts from them, and they were quite happy about this, as they wanted their privacy. Hermione sighed and finally turned to look at Draco, the sun had begun it's slow decent and Draco was bathed in an orange glow and Hermione thought that he resembled a Greek god, though she didn't tell him that, his head and ego were inflamed enough as it was! Finally, Hermione took a deep breath and decided it was time to tell Draco what was on her mind. Draco, it seemed, had had the same idea, and they both spoke at the same time,  
  
"Hermione…"  
  
"Draco…"  
  
They both laughed and then at the same time said,  
  
"You go fist…"  
  
They laughed again and Hermione held up her hand to stop Draco from talking, "you go Draco," but he seemed to have lost his nerve for whatever it was that he was going to say.  
  
"No, I insist that you go first, you know with you being a lady and all," Hermione who had also lost the nerve to say what she wanted to looked at Draco and glared. Draco could not help but think of how beautiful that she looked bathed in orange and gold hues and even angry she had the ability to take his breath away, though he knew that this was not the best time to tell her.  
  
"Draco I have my wand and I know more hex's and jinx's than you do, so if you value your beautiful face you will say what you were going to say." Hermione smiled sweetly at him, though Draco was not fooled and knew that she was still angry with him for wimping out. However, the thought did not cross his mind that his brave Hermione was doing the exact same thing.  
  
"I'm not beautiful, men are not beautiful!" Draco feigned outrage and Hermione could not help the giggle that followed.  
  
"You're not going to get out of it that easy, what d you want to tell me?" Hermione was completely serious now and she looked up at Draco with big eyes and waited for him to tell her what was on his mind. Though Hermione knew that he loved her there was a part of her that was a little bit scared of what he had to say to her, what if he was going to tell her that he wasn't going to return to the magic world even though people wanted him to. Or maybe he was going to return to the magic world but leave her because well, just because! Hermione was beginning to panic though on the outside she looked completely calm.  
  
"I have been thinking, and well what Dumbledore had to say has given me a lot to think about, and with seeing mother again after all of that time and she's sick you know, I have decided that I want to get to know her properly. Without father there to dictate what our lives."  
  
"I think that that is a wonderful idea, you and your mother need to have some time together again so that you can both get to know each other. You always were a great wizard and it will be fantastic if you could get that part of your life back again." Hermione pasted a smile on her face, inside her heart was breaking and even though Draco had made no promises to her she had been hoping that he would mention her and the both of them having some sort of future together.  
  
Draco was confused, with the way that Hermione was talking, it didn't seem that she wanted him in her life and that was a direct contradiction to the night that they had shared. Suddenly it dawned on him, she did not want to put any pressure on him, and she did not want to force him to make any decisions that he was not ready to make. This thought made Draco fall even more in love with her than he had been five minutes ago.  
  
"Hermione, I want to be a wizard again but I will only do it if you make a promise to me…"  
  
Hermione looked at him curiously and when she realised that he was waiting for her to ask what the promise was, she thought that she better answer him. "What promise do you ask of my Draco?"  
  
Draco smiled and some of his old evilness shone through and Hermione began to worry. "You have to promise me that you will…" Draco looked slightly nervous and though he knew what he wanted to make her promise, he was not sure how Hermione would react. "I want you to promise…" he tried again, "I need you to promise that you will be my wife and never leave me. I love you Hermione, with all of my heart" Draco looked down at his hands that he had been wringing in nervousness and held his breath while he waited for Hermione to reply.  
  
Hermione was speechless! She took her hand and placed it under Draco's chin, forcing him to look up at her, her face was completely serious and Draco began to worry. Then suddenly when what he had asked her finally sunk into her shocked brain a smile as bright as the sun lit her face and Hermione launched herself into his arms, knocking Draco over so that they were lying on the grass and they were showering each others faces in kisses.  
  
They were both laughing and both were incredibly happy, happier than either had been in their entire lives. "I take that as a yes then." Draco said when they had finally calmed down a little bit.  
  
"I love you so much Draco, however before I can say yes I have a condition to make," Hermione thought that it was about time that Draco tasted some of his own medicine. Hermione stood and pulled Draco up and they began to walk towards the castle again for the feast.  
  
"And what condition is that love of my life, would you like me to slay you a dragon?" He asked, he would do anything for her, she had given him back his old life, only much much better, and for that he would be eternally grateful to her.  
  
"Oh, something much more dangerous!" On the inside, Hermione was laughing but her face held an expression of seriousness.  
  
"Ok then," Draco readily agreed, though he was starting to worry, what could be worse than slaying a dragon??  
  
"My condition is… that you have to come with me when I tell Harry and Ron!"  
  
Their laughter floated around the grounds as the couple walked hand in hand back to the castle bathed in a orange glow, their love evident for all to see, they would live a happy and love filled life together, and they owed it all to a romantic old wizard with a heart of gold.  
  
~ Fine ~  
  
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Hello all, well I hope that you enjoyed the end of my story, thank you once again to all whom reviewed, without you I would have not continued. And I don't think it's to bad considering that it is my first fan fiction!!  
  
A special thank you to Avri, my most loyal reviewer! Hugs and kisses to you :) :) :)  
  
If you have any comments about the story, you can e-mail me at spaced_out_space_cadet@hotmail.com or review.  
  
Look out for my new story that hopefully will appear soon, I will try to write as much as possible before I post the fist chapter so that you wont have to wait ages for the next one!  
  
Sorry that this took so long to post! www.fanfiction.net wasn't working! So sorry to all of those who were waiting for this! :) 


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